Survival & Self Reliance: Excalibur Dehydrator

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5 tray excalibur dehydrator

And the winner is Jodie! She said, “Please can this be the time I win? Lol! I have been wanting this ever since I graduated BYU. I really want this!“

Send an email to kelsey[at]vanillajoy[dot]com to claim your prize. Congrats!

THE PRIZE

One Vanilla Joy reader will win a 5-tray Excalibur Dehydrator! ($190)

MY REVIEW

If I had to make a list of my top 10 favorite review products last year, the 9 tray Excalibur Dehydrator would absolutely make the list and there’s one big reason why:

My kids LOVE dried fruit (particularly apples) and fruit leather MORE THAN CANDY. I realize that dehydrated fruit loses some of its nutritional value, BUT STILL! It’s fruit and the sugars are natural and it’s 5 billion times better than anything sweet I could buy at the store.

Excalibur dehydrator review

As you can see from this picture, the apples within snitching distance are mostly gone BEFORE THEY’RE EVEN FINISHED DRYING. Elliot snuck his little Tummy Tub stool in the kitchen and devoured a bunch of apples and several inches of fruit leather, and you know what? Fine with me! (He didn’t eat all those apples by himself…Gus and I helped…they’re just SO GOOD.)

excalibur dehydrator 9 tray fruit leatherEven more than the dried fruit, we love making fruit leather. My two boys will consume an entire tray of fruit leather (that I roll in saran wrap and take with us to the store for a shopping snack) in no time. This dehydrator dries so evenly and beautifully that the finished product is always delicious.

Fruit leather is a great and EASY way to use up fruit. I core an apple and throw the entire thing, skin and all, into my Cuisinart PowerEdge 700 blender. A handful of apples with some banana, spinach, mango, or whatever else you have in the fridge turns into a delicious fruit leather 6-8 hours later.

Fruit leather is a great every day AND travel snack and is yummy enough to be classified as a treat…

There are lots of dehydrators out there. So why Excalibur?

I asked around at the Self Reliance Expo I attended last October, and all the serious dehydrators recommended it. Some of them had several and have at least one going all the time. They last forever and dry a ton of food at a time (the 9 tray dehydrator has 15 square feet of tray space).

The 600 watt fan is a whopping 7″ and it has an adjustable thermostat that ranges from 85 to 145 degrees. It’s quiet and doesn’t heat up my kitchen at all. The soft humming sound is actually rather soothing, and the aroma of drying fruit in my house all day is one of my favorite things.

Most other dehydrators have smaller fans and much less wattage which just means dehydrating your food will take longer. Excalibur is the Bosch of dehydrators.

preserve it naturally dehydrator bookIf you’re interested in learning more about dehydrating foods, I would recommend Preserve it Naturally.

This book has tons of information about how to dry in different climates, recipes using dried foods, a section that lists each fruit and vegetable and talks about how well it dehydrates and how long it takes in different climates, how to dehydrate meats, and so much more.

I wasn’t sure how to tell when a fruit was fully dehydrated, and this book gives great information about all that and more.

I also really like the blog Dehydrate2Store.com. She has a great tips page with lots of helpful information.

Having a dehydrator opens up the possibilities for all that summer produce and is just one more way to get everyone in the family eating more fruits and vegetables.

I just made some fruit leather and it’s already all gone, so we’ll be making more this week!

Thanks to Excalibur Dehydrators for sponsoring this giveaway!

GIVEAWAY RULES

  • Visit ExcaliburDehydrator.com
  • Make a comment on this post telling me your favorite dehydrator product or why you’d like to win before midnight Sunday, January 30.
  • A winner will be selected and announced in a new post on Monday.
  • Only one comment per person unless you earn extra entries.
  • Giveaway open only to residents of the continental United States…sorry.
  • Winners must email me to claim their prize within 5 days.

EARN EXTRA ENTRIES

You may earn 1 extra entry each for doing the following (make a separate comment for each thing you do):

GOOD LUCK and THANKS!

{This product was provided to Vanilla Joy for review purposes.}

197 thoughts on “Survival & Self Reliance: Excalibur Dehydrator”

  5. I like the 5 tray. It’s a good size. I would be useful b/c my son loves fruit leather and I’ve been wanting to make flax seed crakers forever.

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  6. Thank you for your review of the Excalibur! I have been looking for a truly great food dehydrator for about a year now! We love fruit around our place, and I would love to be able to dehydrate and store it when it is in season! The fruit leather sounds like a great idea too!

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  7. I would LOVE to win one of these! I have been wanting one for a long time and am saving to buy one of these and a wheat grinder. I would love to not have to buy this, so I can save for the grinder :)

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  14. I would love to win this for my class at school. I teach Nutrition and this would be a very valuable tool to teach them preservation of fruits and veggies.

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  16. Other than the dehydrators, my favorite product is the Stainless Steel Compost Keeper. I have a smaller dehydrator at home. I would LOVE to have this – as my intent is to lower our grocery bill and help the earth, by storing our garden produce and produce of each season. Thank you for such a fabulous giveaway!

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  22. I would absolutely love one of these!! I love dried fruit and how awesome would it be to make your own? Thanks for the giveaway!

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  33. Wowzers! We’ve been eye-ing these and I must say I’m thrilled you’re doing a giveaway for one. With 5 kids, all of whom will most surely die if they don’t get an afternoon snack, it’s hard to find healthy stuff of which they don’t get completely bored. Making our own fruit leather and dried fruits would be a great way for them to help in the kitchen and all of us to enjoy yummy goodness! :)

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  44. I think I’d like the dehydrator to make jerky. It’s one of my favorite snacks when I’m wanting lean protein, but it’s super expensive to get the good kind at PCC or Whole Foods without copious amounts of sodium…

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  45. I watched the “how to make a fabric flower” youtube video. Cute idea! Now I can use up some of my excess fabric…can’t wait to see it on a headband.

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  47. I have a dehydrator that I bought 24 years ago. The motor is dying and I need to replace it. I would love to win this Excalibur, I hear great things about them.

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  48. Oh man, there are so many reasons for a dehydrator. I would love this one because my current one is old, and is possibly getting more use than it should. I dehydrate tons of stuff. (It’s giving me warning signs.) My son loves dried fruit, and since I do it I know whats in it. I use the dried veggies for everything from dried soup mixes to rehydrating later in the season to use in canning. And fruit leathers are great. And homemade jerky beats store bought any day of the week!

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  49. I’d like to win because a dehydrator would be a great way to use and store the produce from my garden and It sounds fun as well.

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  58. I watched the 3min Excalibur video- quite informative. I like that you can make more space by removing trays and the way the air moves.

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  67. I would love this dehydrator! My mom used to make dried fruit and fruit leather when I was little and it was my favorite snack! I would love to be able to make it for my daughter!

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  76. As a wife and mother, I’m constantly trying to find ways to add more fruit and vegetables to our diet. I’d love a dehydrator to add dried apples,etc. and fruit leather to lunches and snacks!!!

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  80. I have the 9 tray Excalibur and I totally agree with you, it is great. I am always amazed at how versatile it is.
    Another book I have found handy is The Dehydrator Bible.

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  81. I would love the dehydrator. I have a son who likes raisins as far as fruit goes. With the dehydrator, I am sure I could come up with some more favorites he didn’t even know about!

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  82. Thank you so much for your review. As a child, my grandfather would dehydrate apples the old fashion way – out side on screens in the sun. We always had apples all year long and all of the grandchildren loved having these for snacks. I would love the win so I could be able to have the healthy snacks of my childhood.

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  88. I’d like to learn more about preserving my own food, and dried fruit would be the perfect place to start. Thanks for sharing this great product!

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  106. My husband and I eat fruit leather like it’s our job. We have had less expensive food processors in the past with sub-par results. I’ve been drooling over this dehydrator for a while now and would LOVE to win it!

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  113. My husband has medical issues and we are now working with his diet to help. Everything need to be natural with no perservatives. He loves dried fruit and it gets really expensive.

    I would love this to make yummy snacks that he can enjoy.

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  115. Please can this be the time I win? Lol! I have been wanting this ever since I graduated BYU at the same time as 3 of my siblings’ spouses. My parents gifted the 3 of them with Excaliburs but not me (long story). Oh boy have I been coveting them ever since! I really want this!

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  131. I would love to win this and give it to my husband! He loves dehydrating fruits and veggies. I would like to try the fruit leather!

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  144. I commented on your Japanese Stab Book tutorial series. SO cute! I’m totally inspired to put my underused scrapbooking paper to some good use for some cute books. Yay! Thanks.

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  150. I am a budding Weston A Price cook and would use this particularly for “crispy pecans”– the best way to eat pecans, hands down! :)

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  152. I watched the Excalibur video – very informative! I have seen mixed reviews about circle dehydrators and now I know the science behind why box ones work better.

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  164. I stumbled upon your blog and saw this give away. I was SO excited. I would love to experiment with a dehydrator! My mother is a dietician and I’ve been trying to talk her into purchasing one so I can play with it. My family loves dried fruit which is fairly expensive store bought. I didn’t realize that it could be used with vegetables easily as well. I would love to have this for when we plant our garden this spring. Fabulous give away. I’m going to check your website more regularly.

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  169. I am wearing my dehydrators out! Have been dreaming of this one!! My list of favorites is long! Here are the top 3!I love flax/veggies crackers using leftovers from my juicer,kale crisps are an unusual hit with my kids,& fruit and leathers of all varieties.My veggie garden and bounty from local orchards would thank you ! They don’t want to rot, they want to be made into yummy dehydrated food!

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  171. I’m not much of a dried fruit person, but dried tomatoes for pasta dishes and fruit leather are both wonderful. The 5 tray dehydrator looks great for the amount of drying that I’d like to do.

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  182. I just tried a friends dehydrator for the first time. Loved the nuts & fruit.
    I have suffered from food allergies & recently realized that I am gluten intolerant . I am taking control of my food & want to become as chemical free as possible.
    A dehydrator is defiantly in my near future!
    Loved watching the videos on the excalibur.

    Reply

  187. I would absolutely die for an Excalibur!!! As a college student, I don’t have the budget for many appliances, but am so devoted to eating healthy and experimenting in the kitchen. A dehydrator would be awesome to make raw crackers, breads, kale chips, seasoned nuts/seeds, raw macaroons, raw crusts, fruit leathers, raw eggplant bacon…I could go on forever!! SO many things I want to try! Thanks for such a great giveaway :)

    Reply

  194. watched excalibur, video and would love to have food on the go, that is healthy to carry with the kids for snacks too. learned it has same material as in airplane windows and a 10 yr warranty.

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  197. I would love to win one of these. The last 3 weeks I have been a quest and putting forth a great deal of effort and sacrifice to eat heathy so that I can be and feel healthy and be able to get pregnant again. I have done lost of reading of health books about diet and many of the healthy recipes I find require a dehydrator. I would really like one of these, and would use it!

    Reply

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